Sugar market news from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, May 18, 2020

Latest news are available in our daily reports.

RUSSIA

According to the press service of the Rusagro Group of Companies provided to Sugar.ru, upon to the results of 3 months of 2020, the company increased its net profit under IFRS by 231%, compared to the same period last year, to make total 3.198 billion rubles. Sales increased in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2019, due to an increase in sugar sales by 63%, which was partially offset by a 32% drop in prices. Sales volumes increased as a result of increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, in the first quarter of 2019, sales were delayed from the beginning of the year until February-March due to management expectations of price increases. The fall in prices was caused by the overproduction of sugar in Russia. However, compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, the selling price in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 14% as a result of the growth in demand caused by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

*

Problems with sowing sugar beets in the spring of 2020 arose from the very beginning. Warm winters and a small amount of snow left the soil without moisture. The early onset of sowing, cold spring and the lack of rainfall in several regions led to poor germination of beets. A warm winter means that pests and pathogens have wintered well and spoilage of beets will increase. In mid-spring, the south of the Krasnodar Territory suffered from drought. The next problem was dust storms that blew part of the crops off. In total, crops area of at least 50 thousand hectares, and most likely over 100 thousand hectares, most of which had to be sowed, were affected. Representatives of Agroliga (the exclusive distributor of Betaseed) and Strube confirmed a large-scale purchase of sugar beet seeds for reseeding, Strube had to urgently order seeds from Germany to ensure demand for them. It is too early to give accurate estimates of the next season's crop, but it is already obvious that it will be significantly worse than the current one, even taking into account the decrease in sown area.

KAZAKHSTAN

As of May 15, 2020, sugar beets were sown on an area of 20.4 thousand hectares, or 92.7% of the 22 thousand hectares planned.

BELARUS

The government of Belarus has allowed to buy production from sugar factories without competitive procurement procedures. The decision came into force after its official publication.

Sugar.Ru